


Percy could use a lawyer

by ChazMoon123



Category: Daredevil (TV), Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: F/M, I don't even know what I'm writing at this point, M/M, Percy is Confused, Pining, So is Matt, i don't know how to tag, possible s1 spoilers?, send help
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-12
Updated: 2019-02-03
Packaged: 2019-10-08 18:00:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,960
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17391041
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChazMoon123/pseuds/ChazMoon123
Summary: Percy gets into a fight on the streets of Hell's Kitchen. The police arrests him, but two young lawyers come to his aid. One of them being coincidentally the Devil of Hell's Kitchen. Or is it coincidence?





	1. Chapter 1

Percy exhales deeply, exhausted, covered in a combination of ash, dry blood and sweat, and mudwater. Yuck.

"What? Are we making you tired? Want a pillow you can lie on? Have a nap, kid?" the detective sitting in front of him, Blake, spits, weins bulding angrily under his shirt's collar. Percy shifts in his chair, the handcuffs chained to the desk making the only sound in the room.

"No, sir. I just had a long night."

"A long night huh? You mean going around late in the dark, scaring citizens and making noise?"

"I wasn't trying to disturb anyone, sir." Percy says blankly, gaze shifting to the other man, Hoffman. He has a bored expression on his face, like it's a reacurring thing to listen to his partner yell at people like that.

"Alright. Let's see what he have here..." A yellow file is pushed in the middle of the metal table, the name Perseus Jackson printed on it in big font. "You are quite something, kid. Your record is cleaned, but there is still a missing person report visible, witnesses claiming having seen you depart from a bus that exploded moments later, cameras recorded you inside the building before there was a hole blown into the St. Louis Gateway Arch, camera recordings of you and other unidentified teenagers causing havoc all around Manhattan during a series of terrorist attacks that were never explained. You see a pattern here? I find it suspicious that your record is clean after all that crap you pulled." 

Percy only shrugs. It's a petty attempt to force a confession out of him.  
Blake exhales shakily from his nostrils.

"Do you think we are having fun here? Interrogating punks like you? Guess what kid. We have better things to do."

"Then what's stopping you from letting me go?" Percy looks him in the eye, annoyed at the way the man speaks about him and the things he had done to help people, even the ignorant asshole of a detective sitting across him. He sees the detective's left eye twitch and fingers curl into a fist on the desk. Percy would love to see him try, policeman or not. His partner though moves to grab his shoulder when Blake stands from his seat.

"Please, forgive my partner. Just like you, we are having a long night. Just tell us what happened." The other detective pushes his partner back in his seat, pulling the file in front of himself. Percy only continues to look mildly bored, when there is a knock on the door and two men enter the room, one of them nursing a white cane.

"Don't say another word." Percy lifts an eyebrow when the blonde man on the right commands him.

"You two again? Are you out of pathetic homeless people to represent?"

"No. But we would appreciate it if you uncuffed our client. Do we need to ask twice this time?"

"Hell no, Nelson! He is a dangerous criminal. Maybe even a terrorist. I bet he is thinking about blowing up the station."

Percy rolls his eyes, smelling his hoodie as the two men, appearantly lawyers, continue to banter with the detectives, wrinkling his nose. He knows he needs to be home before his mother gets worried. He is in a great need of a shower too. Will he have to use force to escape? Hopefully not. It would be embarrassing to ask Chiron to smooth things out for him again.

"Fine. But if he kills the two of you in cold blood, I won't feel any remorse, because I warned you." Percy gets the handcuffs removed moments later, then the detectives whisk up the file from the table and leave without another word.

"Sorry about that. The guy is a real jerk. My name is Franklin Nelson, and this is my partner, Matthew Murdock. Do you mind if we sit?"

Percy eyes both of them warily, but sighs defeated. "Sure. Go ahead."

"Thank you." the brunette man, Murdock, folds his cane and sits with Nelson in tow, surprising Percy with how deep and pleasant his voice sounds. Murdock has a handsome face, and nicely shaped jaw with the lightest traces of stubble. They both look young, but not necessarily incompetent. Percy has learned not to judge people by their appearances a long time ago. They seem comfortable in their position, which means they must have some experience.

"Who are you?"

"We are Nelson and Murdock. Your lawyers." Nelson decleares.

"I already know that. But what are you doing here? I didn't call any lawyers." Percy crosses his arms, leaning back in his chair.

"That is true." Murdock nods "But, and please don't tell anyone about that, my partner here is bribing a police officer with cigars to inform us about interesting arrests." Percy's eyebrows shoot up in surprise, shifting his gaze to Nelson.

"Matt, that was supposed to be confidental!" Nelson hisses at Matt.

"Sorry Foggy, but you really should stop giving his mother cigars." Matt shrugs with an amused smile.

"The woman loves her cigars!" Foggy retorts, then sighs, noticing Percy's curious look, and coughs into his fist. "Anywho, we heard you were in need of a lawyer, so here we are. Now, Perseus Jackson, interesting name by the way, what can you tell us about what happened tonight?"

Percy shrugs, shifting in his seat. He doesn't see why he should say anything to these strangers, no matter how harmless they seem.

"He shrugged." Foggy whispers to Matt. "Look, we are just trying to help. You obviously don't trust us, which is understandable, but I can assure you that we mean no harm to you."  
Percy regards this with silence, stretching into at least half a minute, until Foggy frowns and pulls out a notepad. 

"Alright. Here is what we have been told. A woman called the police that she saw some sketchy looking men fight a teenage boy in an alleyway in Hell's Kitchen. You were found on the scene, bloodied and panting, holding a weapon of some sort." Foggy finishes his reading, and looks back up to Percy, who's smiling dryly. 

This description is mostly true, though Percy wouldn't call them "men". He was on his way home when he ran into some monsters. The police arrested him when he finished cutting them to ashes. Riptide of course is back in his jean pocket by now in its pen form, which will probably baffle the police when they try to check the stuff they have taken from him. But what could he tell these men, or the police? They would think he's nuts, which he couldn't blame them for. He would call himself crazy too if he didn't know better.

"Look, Mr Jackson--" Matt starts.

"Percy. No Mr or Jackson."

"Percy." Matt smiles "We just want to hear you tell the truth about what happened. That's all." he says pleasantly. 

Percy considers that, shifting his gaze from one lawyer to another. He wets his lips and draws a breath "Okay, fine. I...got into a fight. That's true." he says, thinking of how he should explain what happened without having to lie too much through his teeth. Matt tilts his head curiously. 

"They were bad...people. They were blaming me for things I had done in the past, so they attacked me, and I defended myself. That's all that happened. By the time the police arrived, they were gone. I didn't mean to hurt anybody. Believe me. If I could have, I would have avoided the fight. I mean it." he sighs wearily "All I want now is to go home before my mother gets too worried and kills me."

Matt inclines his head, listening to Percy's heartbeat all the while. It's steady the whole time, though his words are thought out and phrased carefully. Still, the kid is truthful and sincere, which is rare, especially at his age. And he doesn't seem to have bad intentions. He smells faintly of blood and heavily of salt, and sounds tired, too tired and sober for a teenage kid.

"Thank you, Percy, for being honest. We will help you get home today." says Matt.

"We will?" "You will?" Foggy and Percy both ask in unison.

"Yes. You acted upon self defense, and nobody filed charges against you as far as we know." Matt answers easily.

"However, If you could describe the men who attacked you..."

"I can't. I'm sorry."

"That's fine." Matt smiles, hearing the stutter in his heartbeat.

"I don't have money to pay you either. And I don't want my mother to stress over this. She is pregnant and she worries a lot about me..." Percy bites his lower lip, feeling ashamed all of a sudden. 

Matt senses the shift in his system, the blood rushing to his cheeks as he gets hot in the face out of embarrassment. Interesting.

"We won't charge you with anything, don't worry about that. Well then, our work is done here for now. I believe you will be released in about an hour. Foggy?" Matt stands from his seat, unfolding his white cane.

"We won't--? Ugh. Right, whatever Matt. Well, here." Foggy fishes a card from his pocket and places it on the table. "Call us when you get home. We are going to contact you, probably tomorrow. What's your phone number?" He has his notepad turned to a new page, pen ready in hand.

"I don't have a phone though."

"You don't? How is that even possible?" Foggy frowns. Aren't kids unable to live without a phone nowadays?

"I...can't use them." Percy shrugs. Matt is confused by this as well, but he is telling the truth. Percy gives them his home number instead, which Foggy scribbles down swiftly. Matt finds the young man more and more interesting.

"I don't know how to thank you." Percy says after all this is done, overwhelmed and confused.

"No need. On second thought, you could buy us coffee tomorrow." Matt smiles easily.

"Uh. Yeah, sure."

"Great. See you tomorrow then." With that the lawyers leave, and Percy is soon released just as they promised. The police officer who gives his belongings back to him informs Percy that they are not allowed to give back his weapon. He tells the officer it's fine with him. 

It's past 10 when he is finally out of the station, the air colder than he would have thought, but thanks to his father it's no problem for him. He is just happy to finally be free. 

He zones out and walks on auto-pilot through streets and alleys in the direction of a bus stop to take a bus to Manhattan, listening to the sirens in the distance. 

He is about to cross an alley when a dark figure leaps off of the side of the building next to him and lands in front of him, making him stop in his tracks. The figure seems oddly familiar, though he is wearing black clothes and a headband is tied over his face so he can't really recognise the person.

"Hey. Can I help you?" Percy asks awkwardly, not sure what his reaction should be in a situation like this. He had been ambushed several times by monsters of every kind, but not by a ninja or whatever this person was playing at.

"Yes, actually." the person in the mask says in a deep raspy voice, which makes Percy's hair at the back of his neck stand, and takes a few steps towards him.

"Alright...How can I help you?" Percy shifts his weight, too exhausted to put any emotion into his words. He really hopes the guy doesn't want to start a fight. He is no mood for that.

"I believe you have encountered some dangerous criminals today."

Percy snorts, beacuse, yeah, he said that to the lawyers, but can you call monsters criminals? That's an interesting question. How does this stranger know about that though?

"Do you find that funny?" the man tilts his head.

"Sorry. Kind of. But no, they weren't criminals." Percy smirks amused when the man's lips curl down in a frown. Mortals have no idea, seriously.

"You are not lying." the man decleares.

"Duh. Why would I?"

The man doesn't respond for a while, which makes Percy feel awkward again. "If they weren't criminals, who were they?" Percy doesn't respond, because, what could he say? Nothing that would make any sense. Then again, talking to a man with a mask over his face in the middle of a dark alley doesn't make much sense either, but he has learned to just go with the flow by now. That's what demigods do best. "I need to know if there are people on the street who harass others and break the law." the man says more gently, which makes his voice less raspy and more pleasant sounding.

"They won't trouble anyone, believe me." Percy answers grimly, brain working hard to figure out why he finds the man so familiar.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"They are gone. That's about all I can tell you." Percy shrugs apologetically and puts his hands in the pockets of his worn out Camp Half-Blood hoodie, the conversation less and less attention captivating. He has focusing issues anyway, and now he is tired and hungry as well.

"You are bleeding." the man states matter of factly. That's true as well. One monster managed to get their claws on him and wound him, which has been bleeding on and off during his interrogation, but since he stopped sitting and started moving around the wound started to bleed again. Percy hardly notices it, used to pain. It's just a scratch for him anyway.

"Yeah. I'll tend to it at home." Percy says casually. Some ambrosia will cure it no problem. He briefly wonders how the man knows about his injury.

"Are you sure? Do you need an escort home?" the man tilts his head again, voice even softer than before. Percy narrows his eyes at the man, slowly taking in his body and jaw again. He is so familiar, but he just can't connect the dots. His brain is too fuzzy for that.

"Nah man. I'm good. Thanks though." the man nods and climbs back up to the roof of the building, disappearing into the night just as fast as he came, like he was never even there. Percy blinks a few times confused, but shrugs and continues his journey home. It's New York afterall.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm writing weird stuff nowadays. But this one has been in my phone for months now so I thought I would post it. Weird ship but I have tons of those.
> 
> Let me know if you'd like to read more and I'll continue. Somehow xd
> 
> Comments and kudos are greatly appreciated :3


	2. Chapter 2

Percy fidgets, feet tapping on the floor constantly. It's the next day and he's currently waiting for his lawyers at a diner in Hell's Kitchen. It's the place they agreed on during their talk on the phone last night.

His lawyers.

He still can't believe that he has lawyers now. He had never been arrested before last night, never been interrogated like that. No matter how much craziness he had gotten himself into before, he had never had to deal with the law. The reality of it hit him hard, and now he can't help but think how reckless he has been so far.

All the times that he had to deal with demigod business, he never thought twice about breaking mortal laws. It has always been fight or die. The trespassing, the stealing, the destruction he and his friends left behind with each quest, each battle. Mortals had their own problems that had nothing to do with gods.

It's quite obvious, especially nowadays, with the superheroes and vigilanties running/flying around New York city. Demigods saved the world, sure, but mortals contributed to that countless times in ways half-bloods could never have done. Aliens, wizards, mutants. That was a whole different world. And it wasn't the demigods who had to pick up the pieces afterwards the fights they fought, besides mourning their own losses.

This single arrest made Percy think a lot overnight. Makes him wonder, how many homeless children are actually abandoned demigods on the street or countryside? How many of them had been arrested for simply not fitting in society? How many of them had been locked into mental institutions for seeing things mortals can't? The thought makes him frown, makes his stomach turn uneasily. Could he...ask Murdock and Nelson about this? Find out more? Only problem is, they would have to know what a demigod is for that to work. Maybe not the best idea.

But it also makes Percy wonder how much different demigods are compared to mortals. Makes him feel sad about the barrier between mortals and half-bloods, kin and kin unable to understand each other. Like back when the Roman and Greek camps were devided, hostile. He wishes things could be different, but with everything going on with mortals currently, it doesn't seem like involving them is an option anytime soon. Or ever, really. Not publicly anyway. People would freak out for sure.

"Hey man, who kicked your puppy?" the waiter who offered him coffee earlier asks playfully as he comes over to check on him. He's young, about the same age as Percy.

"What?" Percy startles, then sighs "I'm sorry. Just thinking."

The waiter, his tag reads Carlos, humms and nods "Well, you seemed sad. Do you need anything? A glass of water or something?"

"Thank you, but I'm good for now. I'm waiting for someone."

"Alright. Let me know if you need anything." Carlos says before he leaves to tend to other customers. Percy follows him with his eyes shortly before turning back to stare at his hands.

He's saved from darker thoughts when the front door opens and his knights in shining armor walk in. He waves for them and stands to shake their hands before sitting back down.

"Hey. Mind if we order? We spent the night in the office and I'm starving." Foggy says. They do look tired, though it isn't too obvious. The only telltale sign is that Foggy's wearing the same suit. But not Matt. Maybe he went home to change? He looks just as tired.

"Sure. Order anything, on me."

"No need for that. A coffee will be fine." Matt tries to decline politely, but Percy waves him off.

"I know what we agreed on, but I feel like I owe you." he takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly "Before last night I never knew how lucky I've been. You were there even though I didn't think I needed it. And I'm thankful for that."

The lawyers both look a little speechless at his sincere words for a few moments until Foggy breaks the silence.

"Who can say no to a free meal? Right Matt?"

"Right." Matt smiles, eyes crinkling behind his glasses. Percy feels a little warmer at the sight for whatever reason.

"Hey Carlos!" Foggy waves for the waiter grinning.

"It's you guys! Haven't seen you in a while." Carlos returns the lawyer's grin "Thanks for helping my sister out the other day. We would have never known how to get our insurance money if it weren't for you two."

"We were happy we could help." Matt answers politely.

Carlos rolls his eyes but his smile doesn't fade "What can I bring for you?"

"The usual for me," Foggy says "Matt?"

"A cup of coffee will suffice. Thank you."

"Got it. Anything for you?" Carlos asks Percy.

"A glass of water, please."

"I'll be right back."

Foggy pulls a file from his bag and sets it on the table while they are waiting for their orders. "So, there isn't all that much left to do really. There were no charges filed and we managed to convince those detectives that you are not a threat. For now at least. I'm not so sure they would let you off the hook so easy next time. They were talking about previous charges that were cleared up."

"Thank you. I'll try to keep out of trouble. Not that I have to look for it." Percy says grimly.

Carlos returns with their food and drinks shortly "Here you go. Eggs and bacon for you Foggy, black coffee for you Matt, and water for you...?"

"Percy."

"For Percy." Carlos smiles "Shout if you need anything else."

"Thank you Carlos." Matt smiles behind his cup as he takes a sip.

"Yeah, thanks." Percy nods, taking a sip of his own drink. Foggy mumbles a thanks too, though his mouth is full of eggs already. Percy snorts and clears his throat. "So...I'm guessing you like helping people?" he asks the lawyers.

Matt sets his cup on the table and cocks a curious eyebrow "What gave you the idea?"

"You came last night, even though I didn't ask you to. And you bribe an officer with cigars. I'm guessing this isn't the first time something like this happens."

Foggy chuckles between bites and swallows "Yeah, you got us. Though, Matt is the one with the soft heart. I keep trying to convince him that we should get clients who actually pay us, but he's too stubborn."

Matt ducks his head a little shyly "Helping people who need it is payment enough in my opinion."

Percy smiles, glad that Matt can't see it and Foggy is too occupied. He must look silly. But he can't help it. He finds himself admiring the young lawyer for his sense of justice. Not many people go out of their way to help others nowadays, especially in New York. The world has become very selfcentered and selfish place. It's good to know that good intention is still very much present.

"I wouldn't mind actual money as payment." Foggy puts in glumly, chewing on his food.

"I'm sure your service is going to pay off in the future. You seem like good people."

"Thank you. We are trying." Matt smiles "Did you get in trouble with your mother last night?" he tilts his head in a way that makes Percy feel like it's familiar, but he shakes it away. He can't remember where he had seen that.

"She was worried, but relieved at the same time. She sends her gratitude for bailing me out by the way."

"You shouldn't have been arrested in the first place." Foggy points at Percy with his fork "Not for defending yourself. It's a shame those guys got away before the police arrived there. You would have been on your way after giving a testimony."

"Yeah..." Percy finds himself feeling bad for having to lie about it. That's not a usual thing for him either. Most of the time when he has to lie to mortals it's for their own sake, but lying to these men makes him feel guilty.

Matt's eyebrows rise above the rim of his glasses as he senses the change in his system. Guilt, at the mention of the men who got away. Curious.

"Are you sure you don't want any kind of payment? Any way I could help out?"

"It's really not necessary." Matt reassures him.

"Actually, there is stuff to be done at the office." Foggy adds.

"Yeah?" Percy perks up.

"We only moved to our office recently. And our associate recently bought some old office equipment that could use dusting." the blind man muses thoughtfully.

"Or throwing out." Foggy grimaces "Some of it isn't really in working condition, ancient junk. There are boxes that need to be carried out."

"I can help with that." Percy grins, spirit rising. He likes helping others, and he owes the lawyers this much. A bit of physical activity won't hurt either. He had a slow week and couldn't go to swimming practice as much. There are financial problems at the sports centre he goes to and it probably won't be open for a week at least.

"I can't deny, we would be glad to have help. With all the new clients we are getting it's hard to make time for the office." Matt says "But don't feel like you have to."

"Yeah. It's cool if you don't." his partner agrees.

"I would really like to help. I'm not busy with anything in general." Besides school and swimming there isn't really much going on for him. Ever since he and Annabeth split up it has been kinda lonely. He likes his friends from school enough, but he doesn't hang out with them as much. He doesn't go to camp too much either, for some reason it doesn't feel the same anymore. Percy feels like he should be moving on from his days at camp, find a different approach to help demigods. Swords practice can only take a person so far.

"If you really insist, we would be glad to have you." Matt says with a smile.

That smile, Percy thinks, that should not be as attractive as it is. It makes him feel pleasantly warm for some reason. Like he had done something right to deserve it. He ignores how weird that sounds and returns the man's smile, even though he knows he can't see it.

Matt doesn't have to see it though. He feels enough of it to make his smile slightly wider, his nostrils filling with more of that fresh salthy smell as he leans closer on the table, hands folded. Foggy sends him a suspicious sideglance and frowns behind a napkin as he wipes his mouth clean.

"Right, then." Foggy cuts in, startling both Percy and Matt out of whatever they were caugth up in. "We have a trial in a few hours, but you could come over this afternoon."

"I'll be at home helping out. You can reach me there." Percy nods. Is it weird to be excited about carrying boxes and cleaning an office? Because if it is, then he is definitely crazy. He can't wait to see their workplace.

Matt touches his watch and adjusts his glasses. "I think we better go and prepare for the hearing. Are you good to go?" he asks Foggy.

"Sure buddy. I'm full and satisfied." he pats his belly with a small grin. Matt can't help but smile in return.

Carlos comes over just as Foggy begins to put the file and papers previously left on the table back in his bag. He picks up the dishes from the table.

"Thanks Carlos. This place makes the best eggs and bacon in the city." Foggy says.

Carlos laughs lightly "It's just breakfast Foggy. But thanks anyway."

"I'll be covering the bill." Percy pulls out his wallet in advance. Carlos tells him the price of their orders and scribbles something on the bill as he hands it to the demigod.

Percy's eyebrows shoot up in surprise as he watches Carlos walk away, looking back at the paper with a light blush. Foggy laughs at him, while Matt just looks confused.

"He gave me his number." Percy says absently as a way of explanation, looking at the numbers with wonder. It always surprises him when guys openly hit on him.

This sends a small pang of jealousy through Matt, which he covers with a polite smile. The emotion startled him, how naturally it came, how suddenly it came.

"We'll call you from the office." Matt stands, unfolding his cane, with Foggy in tow. Percy stands as well.

Huh. Percy's taller than Matt. Only by a few centimetres, but still. It makes the demigod feel oddly satisfied.

"See you later then." Percy says once they are outside. They part ways and walk in different directions, he and the lawyers.

"You are doing it again Matt." Foggy says with an unimpressed frown once the demigod is out of hearing range.

"What do you mean?" Matt asks innocently, taking hold of his friend's elbow as they begin walking, cane darting around in front of him.

Foggy scoffs "Don't bullshit me Matty. You were making hearteyes at the guy the whole time we were sitting there. You should stop flirting with our clients. I still can't fathom how you are able to tell when they are attractive."

"I have no idea what you are talking about." Matt quips back, lips curled into an amused smile. He just couldn't help it. Percy's voice is just... it sounds like music to his ears. Smooth and soothing like listening to the ocean lick the shore. He smells like the sea too, not overwhelmingly though.

"Whatever Matt." Foggy shakes his head. Matt laughs and pats his arm affectionately.

"What does he look like?"

Foggy lifts an eyebrow "Like the guys I used to hate in highschool. Like the popular kid every girl likes and every guy wants to be friends with."

"Really?" Matt smirks.

"His eyes though...there is something about them. I looked into them one time and it stuck with me."

"The colour?"

"I'm not sure. They are like...green, but also kind of blue."

"Like the sea." Matt muses absently.

"Yeah! Something like that. They seem darker because of his hair sometimes. It's black. Anyway. We have speeches to go through buddy. You can ask about your crush some other time."

Matt chuckles amused and nods "Fine. He's not my crush though."

"Lies."

I know, Matt thinks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uhhh I have no idea what I'm doing xD But I hope you enjoyed this chapter.
> 
> Someone commeted on the last chapter about Percy's healing, but like, my brain is still wired on regular medicine so I didn't even think about that stuff properly. I won't change it up though, I don't think. Thanks for the comment though! I'm grateful for the thought.
> 
> Anyway. If you'd like to read more, let me know in the comments. I don't have a lot planned, but I gave hints in this chapter about what I wanna do later on.
> 
> Comments and kudos are very much appreciated :3


	3. Chapter 3

The building isn't hard to find. Foggy gave him the address earlier, and since Percy likes to know his surroundings, especially in his home city, he knows his way around. There is a small sign at the front of the building with 'Nelson and Murdock' printed on it. It's not a huge thing, but it's pretty neat in Percy's opinion.

He takes the stairs to the level where the office should be, instead of waiting for the elevator. He doesn't like lifts anyway. There were some people waiting for one already.

He knows he is at the right place when he sees several people sit and stand around waiting, old and young alike. There is a door with the same 'Nelson and Murdock' sign painted on it. Percy goes to knock on the door immediately. A pretty blond woman opens the door a few seconds later.

"Good afternoon. How can I help you?" she asks with a gentle smile.

"Hello. I'm Percy Jackson. Matt and Foggy knows about me coming? To help clean the office?"

The woman's eyes widen in recognition "Of course! Come in, Matt told me you would come." She opens the door wider to let him inside. He's a lot older than what she had expected. Foggy said it was a kid, but Percy looked to be about 19 or 20.

Percy smiles gratefully as he enters the office. He can see where they store everything, and it looks very messy indeed. Stacks of cardboard boxes and papers, very dirty looking machines and other very old furniture. There is probably more stored somewhere else.

"My name is Karen Page," she offers her hand once they are inside. "Nince to meet you."

Percy accepts the hand with a nod "Nice to meet you too."

"Matt and Foggy are with a client right now but I'm sure they'll be out soon. Why don't you take a seat while you wait?" Karen offers him a chair by her desk.

"Sure, thank you." Percy takes the offered seat and watches Karen type away on her laptop while he waits. It doesn't take him long to get impatient though, knees bouncing in his seat.

Thankfully he's saved from sitting around for much longer when a door on the right opens and the lawyers exit with a man in tow. They exchange farewells and handshakes before the man leaves, all the while smiling.

"Percy! You are here!" Foggy exclaims with a grin and clasps Percy's hand.

"Yeah, hey. I didn't think you would be so happy to see me." the demigod jokes.

"He's just happy to get rid of all the junk in the office." Matt comments with an amused smile.

"That makes more sense." Percy chuckles "Hi Matt."

"Hey," the blind man flashes him the same soft smile from before, the one that makes Percy's insides warm. "Welcome to the office. What do you think?" he gestures around.

"It's...spacey." Percy says, at loss of better adjectives.

"It looks like a dumpsite, you can say it!" Karen calls over jokingly from behind her desk.

"Now now, it's not that bad." Foggy protests "It just needs some work."

"Sure thing Foggy." Matt smirks amused. No matter how much his partner complains about the place, he can tell he loves the office anyway.

"That's why I'm here. Where should I start?"

"I'll show you the things we want to throw out for sure. I put most of them in separate boxes, though I couldn't cover everything. If I had known sooner that we would get help I would have done more." Foggy explains as he leads Percy to the room that's packed with stuff.

"I could come back and clear out the rest." Percy offers easily.

"Really?"

"Sure," Percy smiles at Foggy's expression of disbelief and surprise "Just let me know when."

"You are the best!" Foggy exclaims grinning. "I'll leave you to it then. The container I rented is outside. Just dump everything labelled 'junk' in there."

"Roger that." Percy looks around the room, spotting several boxes with said label, a lot of furniture and machines too.

"I'll check on you later. Good luck until then." Foggy leaves Percy to work while he joins Matt in the conference room.

"Good kid." Foggy chimes cheerily as he sits down, waiting for their next appointment.

Matt humms his agreement, fingers skipping over papers. He can hear Percy moving around the 'storage room', opening boxes and checking this and that. He can also hear Karen open the door for him when Percy picks up the first box and carries it down, taking the stairs. He doesn't seem to break a sweat over it, though Foggy has told Matt how heavy those boxes are. Curious indeed.

Percy could get the whole thing over with quite fast if he wanted to, but he takes his sweet time with everything. He carefully picks out the boxes he needs to carry out one by one and makes the journey down the stairs several times. It's as good as a workout as any.

"Hey there," Karen sticks her head into the room at some point, somewhere after the tenth box. "Wanna take a break? We are going to order takeout. We could get you something as well."

Percy puts down the chair he was going to take down and brushes away the hair stuck to his forehead with a sigh. "Yeah, that would be nice, thanks. Anything with no meat will be fine with me."

"No meat, got it." Karen smiles "Come, join us while we wait."

Percy nods and swipes the sweat and dust from his palms on his jeans as he joins the lawyers and Karen in the conference room.

"Here's the man himself!" Foggy calls just as Percy enters the room "Man, you've been working hard. Want some coffe or something?" They all have a mug of their own appearantly.

Percy snorts and takes the seat opposite Matt with a sigh "No, thanks. I don't drink coffee. But some water would be nice if that's not too much trouble."

Foggy hurries out to pour some water into a clean mug for him and returns quickly. Percy accepts it with a grateful smile and takes long gulps of it. He hadn't realized how thirsty he had been the whole time, so focused on the task at hand.

"Good work Percy," Matt raises his mug with a small smile "We really appreciate it."

"Sorry about that." Karen says apologetically "I bought all that stuff in an auction. I'm sorry you have to carry almost everything out."

Percy vawes the apology away good naturedly "It's fine, really. I don't mind helping. Especially after what you guys have done for me."

"Aren't you tired though?" Karen asks concerned.

"A little. But I was feeling restless these last few days anyway. It was nice to do something for once. The sports centre I work at has some kind of a financial problem they have to fix so it's closed." Percy shrugs.

"What do you do?" Matt asks curiously.

"I give swimming lessons. It's just a temporary thing though. I don't know what I wanna do after that but for now it's fine."

"A swimmer huh?" Foggy muses "I never learned how to swim properly. You could give me pointers."

"It's never too late to learn." Percy grins "You should come by when the place is open."

"No way man. This body," Foggy gestures at himself with both hands "It has to be kept under covers. I don't want people fawning over me, no thank you."

"Of course." Percy shakes his head amused while Matt and Karen both end up giggling.

That, Percy thinks, seeing Matt laugh like that, he could get used to. The way his eyes crinkle behind his glasses, the wide grin and the slightly coloured cheeks, the sound of warm laughter. It's just...nice.

Karen fetches their order once it's arrived and they set up the conference table as a dining table instead. They have paper plates and napkins, cutlery and everything.

"Here you go Percy," Karen chimes once everything's set up "No meat for you. We ordered a lot of rice and vegetable based stuff. I hope that's alright."

"Thank you, that's really great. I appreciate it." Percy nods gratefully with a smile and takes the containers from her.

"Are you vegetarian?" Matt tilts his head as they all dig in.

"Yeah. I began to notice that I was eating less and less meat over the past few years. It started with seafood but now it doesn't feel right to eat any meat at all." Percy shrugs between bites. The food is really good and he's starving. He's already halfway done with his own meal in a matter of minutes.

"Dude, were you this hungry?" Foggy chuckles when Percy inhales the last of his own portion "We would have ordered extra if we knew."

Percy rubs the back of his neck with a sheepish grin "Yeah, well, It's fine. I tend to burn a lot of energy and then eat fast to make up for it. My mom told me I was a horrible eater as a kid. She never complains now."

"I can see why." Karen smirks.

"Do you want us to order something for you? We don't want you to leave hungry."

"No, it's okay Foggy. I'm fine really."

Matt smiles a little as he catches Percy's lie "Do you want some of my rice and steamed vegetables? I don't think I'll be able to eat all of this stuff."

Percy flushes a little at the offer "I mean...If you really don't mind..." He's not one to turn down food when it's offered.

Matt's smile widens slightly at his reaction. Kind of cute if he wants to be honest with himself.

Karen looks between them with a curious glint in her eyes as they exchange food, while Foggy just rolls his eyes.

By the time every container is empty and everyone is well fed it's pretty late into the afternoon. They clean away everything together and take out the garbage, wash the mugs.

"I think we are ready to close shop for today." Foggy says with a satisfied sigh

"Again, thanks for the help Percy."

"No, I should be the one thanking you. What do I owe you for the food by the way?"

"It was on the house, " Karen smiles "So don't even think about money."

Percy huffs but smiles anyway "You are making it very hard for me to pay back anything."

"We'll take that as a compliment." Matt returns his smile gently. He gathers the papers he wants to take home with him and grabs his cane.

"I couldn't take out everything you want to get rid of but I can come back the day after tomorrow in the morning if that's good for you."

Foggy looks through their schedule and bobs his head thoughtfully "We have a meeting at the courthouse at 9 but you could come over around 10 maybe?"

"Sure. I'll be here."

The demigod shakes hands with both lawyers once they are outside the building, saying their goodbyes. Percy takes a little too much pleasure in having Matt's hand in his own, wondering whether holding that cane can actually make his skin feel so rough. Either way, the sensation is nice.

Unknown to Percy, Matt is enjoying the handshake for similar reasons, his sensitive skin tingling by the demigod's calloused fingers. And the smells. The same unique salty scent mixed with the sweat, the Chinese food they have eaten. It's very intense indeed.

"See you around then." Percy says with a small vawe of his hand when they part ways.

Karen quirks an eyebrow at Matt and Foggy once Percy has disappeared out of sight. "A kid coming to take out the trash huh?"

"What?" Foggy frowns "That's what the point was."

"Right," Karen shakes her head amused "I didn't expect to dine with him. But he actually seemed nice." She decides not to mention the part where Matt was smiling at him like he could actually see Percy.

"He's quite something isn't he?" Matt murmurs absently, one hand twirling his white cane "Anyway, let's go home. We have much to do tomorrow." And tonight. The Devil of Hell's Kitchen doesn't sleep.

Foggy walks with him for a while until they have to part ways as well. From there Matt just folds his cane and runs along the rooftops. He punches a mugger on the way to his apartment and has the scared victim call 911.

It's going to be a long night, he thinks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no idea what I'm doing xd But I didn't want to make the few people who want to read this wait too much :D I hope you enjoyed it ^^;
> 
> Let me know if you'd like to read more in the comments and I'll do my best to write more.
> 
> Comments and kudos are greatly appreciated ^^


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